Free Republic

The word came in an email even before another simmering hot August workday here in Arkansas had really begun. The message had been expected for some time, but that didn't make it any easier to take. Chris Battle had died. His long struggle with cancer was over, thank the Lord. But we didn't feel thankful. You never really do when the news first arrives. Maybe you know you should, but it's all abstract that first day, maybe that first year. Before the flood of healing memory has a chance to cover you, and wash away the immediate pain. His obituary...

Sen. Mark Pryor gets an assist from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to save him from Bloomberg’s money, then cuts the ribbon at an ammunition factory. Gun control advocates are fine with the factory thing, but not Gillibrand’s money. Welcome to Arkansas 2014. WASHINGTON — Sen. Mark Pryor broke ground at an expanded Remington ammunition factory in his home state of Arkansas Thursday — a gun-friendly move by a gun-friendly Democrat. That’s not normally something that would make much news: Even ardent Democrats in Arkansas are firmly supportive of gun rights. But with pro-gun control Democrats coming to his aid, Pryor’s 2014...

A majority of American parents with grade-school children say they would feel safer if their child attended a school with an armed guard, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said they’d feel safer if their child attended such a school, against only 24 percent who say they’d feel safer if their child went to a school where no adult was allowed to own a gun. Fifteen percent weren’t sure. The poll comes a week after Arkansas’s attorney general, Democrat Dustin McDaniel, said school districts in his state can’t employ teachers and staff as armed guards...

Are people safer if criminals know who is carrying concealed handguns? Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel seems to think so. With school starting soon, he claims that if the Clarksville, Arkansas School District lets employees carry concealed handguns at school, their names must be made public. This is his second attempt to derail the school district’s proposal. McDaniel’s demand to publicize the names will greatly limit the protection these employees can offer. School shooters have a strategic advantage in that they determine when and where to attack. The alternative of hiring uniformed armed guards is not only costly, with one...

In a move that should make gun owners across the nation happy, Remington just broke ground on their newest ammo plant in Lonoke, Arkansas. This comes at a time where ammunition is scarce and prices are high. The facility is expected to employ 50 to 100 people when it’s up and running, and should have the space and tooling to manufacture something to the tune of 2 to 3 billion rounds of ammo a year. If construction goes according to schedule, the facility will be up and running in June of 2014. It will have 35,000 square-feet of floor space...

Former Republican Congressman and Drug Czar Asa Hutchinson (at right) holds an eight-point lead over his Democratic rival for governor, former Democratic Rep. Mike Ross, D. The two men are vying to replace Gov. Mike Beebe, D, who defeated Hutchinson for the job in 2006 but cannot run again due to term limits. The Conservative Intel poll of Arkansas, whose Senate results were released yesterday, was conducted by Harper Polling and surveyed 587 likely voters in the state...

When U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, R (at right) announces his candidacy for Senate at a barbecue this evening, he will be doing so as an early frontrunner in a 2014 race that could ultimately determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Arkansas Rep. Tom Cotton, who announced this week that he will challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, attacked alcohol vendors, called for mandatory financial disclosures of campaign donations, favored banning cigarettes, and attacked libertarianism while he was a Harvard student. In a twice-weekly column for the Harvard Crimson, Cotton — who has been called a “Republican’s dream” by National Review and an “extraordinary figure” by the Weekly Standard — criticized politicians for not doing enough to oppose tobacco and wrote a laudatory 1996 piece praising Bill and Hillary Clinton. In 1997, Cotton wrote a scolding op-ed on alcohol and underage drinking...

FORT SMITH, Arkansas, Would a traditionally red Arkansas support Hillary Clinton should she decide to run for President in 2016. While the idea may be brushed off at first, when looked at more closely, it is not as far-fetched as it might appear.

Arkansas Republican Rep. Tom Cotton plans to announce his bid next week to challenge two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in next year’s elections, according to a person familiar with the congressman’s plans. The person who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday was not authorized to speak publicly about the planned announcement and spoke on a condition of anonymity. But the freshman congressman has scheduled an event Tuesday with supporters in his hometown of Dardanelle. Cotton’s entry will set up a heated and expensive fight for a U.S. Senate seat that Republicans believe is prime for a pickup in...

Rep. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) plans to announce a Senate bid next week, challenging incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) in a state that is considered a top pick-up opportunity for Republicans, a source confirmed to POLITICO Wednesday. The freshman congressman, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, is a star among neoconservatives and could serve as a major counterweight to the more libertarian voices of the Senate, including Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Arkansas is one of a handful of Republican-leaning states represented by Democrats — Louisiana, North Carolina and Alaska are the others — that are critical to the GOP’s...

Arkansas state Rep. Butch Wilkins, a Democrat, blasted one of his Republican colleagues in the Arkansas state House for using racist language. How did Wilkins know that former Rep. John Hubbard’s language was racist? Because Wilkins heard similar words and phrases at a Klu Klux Klan rally he once attended. Wilkins took to Facebook recently to criticize a guest column written by Jon Hubbard in the Jonesboro Sun. “How many of you have ever attended a Klan rally,” asked Wilkins in a Facebook post. “I did once out of pure curiosity in the early 1960’s. The babbling of the speaker...

CLARKSVILLE, Arkansas (AP) — When classes at Clarksville High School resume in August assistant principle Cheyne Dougan will be among the more than 20 teachers, administrators and other employees in the school district carrying concealed weapons. After a school shooting in Connecticut last December that left 20 children and six teachers dead, the idea of arming schoolhouses against gunmen was hotly debated across the country. The National Rifle Association declared it the best response to serious threats. But even in the most conservative states, most proposals faltered in the face of resistance from educators or warnings from insurance companies that...

What’s the outlook for the 2014 Senate elections? As in 2010 and 2012, the Republicans once again have a chance to overturn the Democrats’ majority. Much attention has been focused on whether Republicans this time will nominate candidates capable of winning key races, which they failed to do in the two previous election cycles. But another interesting question is how Democrats will try to hold onto seats in Republican-leaning states even as Barack Obama maintains his strong tilt to the political left. The lineup is certainly favorable to Republicans. Assuming the New Jersey seat now held by Republican appointee Jeff...

... "The administrator of the individual health unit, a much more polite authority, gave a similar spiel but revealed that there is no law mandating the disbursement of these products. This means that the DOH, entirely on its own initiative and apparently without any sort of official citizen advisement, has simply decided to regularly budget taxpayer funds for them." ... "With that in mind, is contraception really the answer to the epidemic of sexually-transmitted diseases? Recently, the Democratic Party of Sebastian County hosted two ladies promoting this idea. One of the speakers, when just gently pressed by the friendly audience...

Gun rights advocates received a big boost yesterday when Arkansas State Representative Nate Bell, R-Mena, gave his opinion that Act 746 will decriminalize open carry on August 16th, 2013, the date it takes effect.Representative Bell was one of many sponsors of HB1700, the enacting bill that passed April 4th, 2013. On a July 16th Facebook post, Bell declares it was the original intent of the sponsors to decriminalize open carry. It was the intent of the sponsors of Act 746 to decriminalize the open carry of a firearm by persons not prohibited from legally possessing the firearm. It’s my belief...

ITTLE ROCK (KATV) - A routine traffic stop Monday turned into a chase and ended with an officer-involved shooting. Sgt. Cassandra Davis said a man in his 30s was pulled over for a traffic stop near the corner of 12th Street and Jefferson because he was believed to be driving a stolen black SUV. The suspect reportedly ran about five blocks behind a building at 1110 Adams Street. Davis would not give further details about what escalated the situation into a shooting but did confirm that the suspect was dead. The officer was not injured. Various witnesses have reported hearing...

The media in the great state of Arkansas is all abuzz this week about Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issuing an official opinion on Monday, July 8th. In the opinion (which pertains to a small section of law in upcoming Act 746, effective on August 16th), the AG was asked: “Is it your opinion that Act 746 now permits a person to be able to carry a handgun, in plain view or concealed, if they leave their county so long as they do not visit locations that prohibit carrying a firearm such as the State Capitol grounds, airports, schools, etc.?”Though this...

Good news from Arkansascarry.com: In July, 2013, Arkansas will become the fifth state in the United States to enact “Constitutional Carry” into law. Act 746 of the 2013 General Assembly was signed into law by Governor Mike Beebe on April 4th, 2013, after receiving only one “nay” vote from the legislature. Constitutional Carry occurs in a state when no laws exist that generally restrict the carry of handguns (open or concealed) for self-defense purposes. Arkansas law 5-73-120 currently prohibits the possession of a handgun if it is possessed “readily available for use with a purpose to employ the handgun… as...

On Thursday, Family Council President Jerry Cox expressed concerns over the possibility tax dollars might go to Planned Parenthood under Arkansas’ new expansion of Medicaid. According to recent news reports, at least twenty-eight organizations—including Planned Parenthood—have applied for public dollars to hire a total of more than 600 new employees. These new employees will help Arkansans enroll in programs under the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama. So far, twenty-seven nonprofits and other entities have been approved by the state to hire new employees, but Jerry Cox says he hopes Arkansas’ legislators will not make any abortion...

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (R) suggested in an interview Friday that he supports the border security deal crafted by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) . . . . //////////////////// Excerpt only.

Several ways to fight against S744, the newest amnesty: S744, the "comprehensive immigration bill, is still being debated in the United States Senate. The Grassley amendment that would have required at least some security before passage was voted down. The United States Senate will likely pass S744 by July 4th. If the United States House of Representatives passes an immigration bill, there's the possibility of a conference that could produce an amnesty bill with the promise of security, just like the 1986 amnesty. There is a "Gang of 70" that is preparing to stop any immigration bill in the House...

University advises ‘nodding’ at an assailant will prevent attack Women who are about to be raped at or near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock should nod at their attackers as an alternative to using deadly force, according to that university’s safety expert. Huh? The Arkansas legislature recently gave schools the authority to opt out of the state’s concealed carry laws and thereby ban guns on campus. Most schools have chosen to do so, including Arkansas State University and the University of Arkansas, as reported by The College Fix. The ban extends to even professors and staff members, leaving...

The party has an outside chance of winning the five or six seats it needs to retake control, but needs to find top-tier recruits in several states and is running out of time to do so. ....Here are five states where the party needs to land strong candidates to broaden the battleground and have a hope of winning back the Senate. Michigan Iowa Montana Arkansas New Hampshire

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Tonight a (WHITE) University of Arkansas Little Rock employee talked to FOX 16 about being attacked near campus. The employee tells us the attack came out of nowhere after he parked his car on 32nd and University. He also says it happened in broad daylight around 10:00 Tuesday morning.A group of guys jumped the UALR employee on his way to work. The victim said, "I just walked past them and the next thing I know I was being attacked from behind." The victim says the men took several swings at the back of his head and...

In lieu of guns, people who find themselves in dangerous situations at or near the University of Arkansas should defend themselves by glancing and nodding, said a university safety expert. Earlier this year, the Arkansas legislature approved a concealed carry law, but gave school administrators permission to override the law and ban guns on campuses. Most Arkansas universities, including the University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University, opted to prohibit concealed carry, according to The College Fix. But disarmed faculty and staff members are vulnerable to attack when traveling to and from campus, according to a chain of emails sent...

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 262 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 330 PM CDT FRI MAY 31 2013 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA * EFFECTIVE THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON FROM 330 PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT CDT. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... SEVERAL INTENSE TORNADOES LIKELY NUMEROUS VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 4 INCHES IN DIAMETER LIKELY NUMEROUS DAMAGING WIND GUSTS LIKELY WITH SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT GUSTS TO 80 MPH POSSIBLE THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS APPROXIMATELY ALONG AND 65 STATUTE MILES...

Food for Thought Just a quick refresher course lest we forget what has happened to many “friends” of the vile Clintons. 1- James McDougal – Clintons convicted Whitewater partner died of an apparent heart attack, while in solitary confinement. He was a key witness in Ken Starr’s investigation. 2 – Mary Mahoney – A former White House intern was murdered July 1997 at a Starbucks Coffee Shop in Georgetown .. The murder happened just after she was to go public with her story of sexual harassment in the White House. 3 – Vince Foster – Former White House councilor, and...

(WMC-TV) - District Judge Kristine Baker sentenced a former West Memphis councilman and a West Memphis police officer for a conspiracy to commit election fraud. Former West Memphis City Councilman Phillip Wayne Carter, 44, and former West Memphis Police Officer Sam Malone, 32, were sentenced Wednesday. They pleaded guilty in September, along with former Democratic representative Hudson Hallum. In doing this, Carter and Malone acknowledged his participation in a conspiracy to bribe voters to influence absentee votes in the Arkansas District 54 primary, its runoff election, and the general election. All of those events were held between February and July...

BETHANY NICOLE WILLIAMS, 24 years old of Flippin, called the Detention Center several hours after being released saying she had left a small container in her jail uniform when she was booked out and wanted to retrieve it. Jail staff searched the uniform BETHANY WILLIAMS had been wearing. They found a small plastic container in one of the pockets. This container had inside of it eight (8) white pills identified as Trazadone and one clear rock substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. BETHANY WILLIAMS returned to the Detention Center on May 20th at approximately 3:30 PM to retrieve the container....

Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner has been arrested for extortion by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being held in Pulaski County Jail, the Associated Press reported Saturday. FBI spokeswoman Kimberly Brunell told the AP that Shoffner was arrested Saturday at her home in Newport and is scheduled for a federal court hearing Monday. Brunell said Shoffner was arrested on charges of "extortion under color of official right." Brunell said she would have more details Monday. The arrest comes four months after Arkansas Business reported that the Democratic state treasurer had been under criminal investigation for more than a year...

More than 100 people lined up to check out the handguns and rifles being auctioned off in Poteau on Saturday (May 18). The LeFlore County Sheriff’s Office auctioned off 264 weapons that had been confiscated and held in the department’s evidence vault. Sheriff Rob Seale said some of the guns were collected as far back as 1999. “A lot of them are weapons that have been seized in court cases that have been cleared,” said Seale. “A lot of them are just lost property that’s been found, property that’s been turned over by the owners.” The auction brought in potential...

The shoe drops. This mug shot of Democratic state Treasurer Martha Shoffner appeared on the Pulaski County sheriff's office jail intake page late this afternoon. (She looked a little distracted when I saw her looking over the cottage cheese in a case at Kroger's earlier this week.) Sorry: I originally called her auditor incorrectly. I have many calls out for more information. Shoffner has been under scrutiny for a variety of issues including charges of favoritism in handling of state investments with a securities firm and also in sloppy reporting and spending of state campaign finance money. She's been subject,...

Update: High temperature in Little Rock has hit 52. The incredibly late season cold snap is breaking numerous records for Arkansas. Nearly 5 inches of snow was reported in some spots in Northwest Arkansas this morning marking the first ever officially recorded snowfall in the State in the month of May. Cold temperature records are also falling. Little Rock set numerous records today including: - Tied the record low for the day of 41, set in 1929 - High of 52 tied the record minimum high temperature for the Month. The previous record was 52 set on May 2 1994....

Democratic leaders are wooing staunchly pro-gun candidates to run in pivotal Senate races at the same time they are discussing a strategy for bringing gun control legislation back up for debate. The two-pronged effort has prompted Republicans to accuse the Senate Democratic leadership of hypocrisy, but Democrats say it is simply smart politics. The question is whether two of the Democrats’ most promising potential candidates in Montana and South Dakota will pay a price for the leadership’s political maneuverings in Washington. Or will recruiting candidates who do not support President Obama’s gun control agenda have any effect on Democratic fundraising...

the Obama administration’s political appointees at the Justice and Agriculture Departments engineered a stunning turnabout: they committed $1.33 billion to compensate... The deal... was fashioned in White House meetings... the $50,000 payouts to black farmers had proved a magnet for fraud. the claims process prompted allegations of widespread fraud and criticism that its very design encouraged people to lie... Agriculture Department reviewers found reams of suspicious claims, from nursery-school-age children and pockets of urban dwellers, sometimes in the same handwriting with nearly identical accounts of discrimination. As a senator, Barack Obama supported expanding compensation for black farmers, and then as...

LITTLE ROCK, AR- The gun debate is not over. Lawmakers say the gun battle will soon be back on the Senate floor. That has some people worried, especially gun enthusiasts who say we should enforce the gun laws that are already on the books. The issue has divided the nation. At first, many called for a ban on certain guns and ammunition, now there are calls for tougher background checks. Donna Terrell talks with one mother, Regina Pryor, who knows about guns, specifically , one of the most controversial, the AR-15. "They call them assault rifles, but they are not...

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) - Police say one of their officers shot and wounded an armed burglary suspect Thursday morning. Sergeant Cassandra Davis says the man was one of possibly three suspects who broke into vehicles on 416 North Pierce Street just before around 5:40 a.m. Police found one suspect near University and H Street. Traffic was shut down in the northbound lane while officers tried to take him into custody. The suspect and officers shot at each other. The suspect was hit in the upper torso and hospitalized. At last check, he was listed in critical condition. No officers were...

Anyone remember Jerry Parks from the Clinton era? He was the head of Clinton's Arkansas Security and his 1993 murder was tied into White Water/Bill/ Hillary/ Arkansas/Corruption/etc Now almost 20 years later his son has plead no contest to the murder of his step father.Dr. Millstein Motive? A 500,000 life insurance policy Possible accomplish ? the wife of both murdered men? and the mother of the murdered Gary You can read about it here: http://www.baxterbulletin.com/article/20130402/NEWS01/304020026/Parks-may-not-acted-alone

The new Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Ark., will hold a dedication ceremony May 3 featuring the former President and his wife and ex- Secretary of State — but there’s just one problem for the snazzy new airport. “Locals are calling it the Hillbilly Airport,” one insider tells Confidenti@l. “And project managers certainly don’t want an airport named after our President called Hillbilly. In the South. How does that look to the world?” Our insider explains that when you depart the airport, you are met with huge signs that invite the public to “come meet” Bill...

For Anthony Weiner, the calculation on running for New York mayor is simple — it’s now or never. For Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, it’s complicated. Weiner, the former congressman from Queens who left office amid scandal in 2011, is looking at a comeback this year. He has ties to two of New York’s best-known political figures, neither of whom has spoken publicly about him running. **SNIP** “Weiner’s mayoral jousting will result in reminders to all that he came from Schumer and, by marrying Huma, is wed to the Clintons, something neither Clinton nor Schumer probably want etched forever into...

Probably the most bracing aspect of Ira Katznelson's new history of the New Deal, Fear Itself, is his portrait of the marriage of progressive domestic policy and white supremacy. I knew the outlines of this stuff, but for a flaming commie like me, the extent of the embrace is hard to take: Far more enduring was the New Deal's intimate partnership with those in the South who preached white supremacy. For this whole period -- the last in American history when public racism was legitimate in speech and action -- southern representatives acted not on the fringes but as an...

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 123 NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK 935 AM EDT THU APR 18 2013 THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A * TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN ILLINOIS CENTRAL AND EASTERN INDIANA SOUTHERN LOWER MICHIGAN NORTHWEST OHIO OHIO LAKE MICHIGAN * EFFECTIVE THIS THURSDAY MORNING AND AFTERNOON FROM 935 AM UNTIL 500 PM EDT. ...THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION... * PRIMARY THREATS INCLUDE... SEVERAL INTENSE TORNADOES LIKELY SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO 80 MPH POSSIBLE A FEW VERY LARGE HAIL EVENTS TO 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER POSSIBLE THE...

Arkansas plans to put prisoners to death with a drug that apparently hasn’t been used in a U.S. execution, and lawyers for condemned inmates warn that it could take longer for someone to die from it than from other lethal injection drugs. Arkansas Department of Correction spokeswoman Shea Wilson told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the state plans to use phenobarbital, along with lorazepam, in lethal injections. None are currently scheduled, but Arkansas recently passed a law that will allow the state to resume executions. … In a letter obtained by the AP, federal public defender Jennifer Horan told...

Just received the call. He will announce his candidacy Wednesday in Prescott at 7:45 a.m.

The Republican plan to block debate on Senate Bill 649, which requires background checks on almost all gun purchases and transfers, failed spectacularly Thursday morning when sixteen Republican Senators joined almost all of the Democrats to vote in favor opening debate on the bill. Among those voting to defeat the filibuster were 9 Democrats with “A” ratings from the National Rifle Association, and 12 A-rated Republicans (out of 16 Republican “ayes”). Two Democrats, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), joined the majority of Republican Senators who tried to prevent debate, much less a vote, on the bill....

Earlier this week I wrote letting you know that over 700 retired Special Forces signed an open letter to the United States House of Representatives demanding that there be a select committee be formed by Congress to investigate the attack that took place on September 11, 2012 in Benghazi, Libya. Well, here’s something. Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) put forth a House Resolution to that effect back on January 18, 2013 and do you know where it’s gotten since that time? It’s languishing in committee. Rep. Wolf introduced H. Res 36, establishing a select committee to investigate and report on the...

http://www.thv11.com/ Tornado Emergency declared for Clinton, AR. WIll post NOAA statement as soon as it is published. Van Buren County, AR has a large vortex tornado on the ground being chased by AR Skywarn watchers

LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Little Rock Police are responding to a bank robbery just down the street directly west of the department. According to the Little Rock Police Department, the robbery occurred at Bank of the Ozarks located at 109 North Chester. Officers received the call at 11:40Wednesday morning, and say the suspect is a black male who stands 5 feet 10 inches tall with a medium build, wearing a white and bluecap and a white denim jacket. He was seen running eastbound from the bank. (Directly towards LRPD). Police say the suspect said he had a weapon, but never...

The Arkansas Senate passes a bill today that would defund the Planned Parenthood abortion business in the Natural State. “Arkansas Senate Bill 818, introduced by state Rep. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch), would block all state funds from going to any entity that provides abortions or refers patients to other abortion providers,” says a report in the Huffington Post. “The bill would also prohibit any organization that contracts with an abortion provider or referrer, including power companies, water companies, health insurers or medical suppliers, from receiving any state money. Supporters of the bill argue that it prevents taxpayer money from indirectly paying...